The NSW Government must take greater action to improve housing affordability, Homelessness NSW said today following the release of a new report by Cotality.
The research showed NSW continues to be the most unaffordable housing market, with Sydney the centre of the crisis. To save a 20% deposit takes over 13.3 years in Sydney and 12.1 years for the rest of the state. It now takes 68.1% of median household income to service a mortgage on a house in Sydney.
"When people with good incomes are forced to remain renting for decades, this puts extra pressure on the rental market," said Homelessness NSW CEO Dominique Rowe.
"Combined with our current low vacancy rates, the result is that people with low incomes are pushed out of the market and into homelessness.
"We are seeing people who have always paid the rent on time and have never needed help before calling upon homelessness services for the first time."
The report showed average weekly rents over the past five years have jumped by 53%.
"People are being forced into homelessness because they cannot afford the roof over their heads. This is by far the most urgent issue facing our state," said Ms Rowe.
"The NSW Government must invest more in homelessness services and urgently build more social housing which is at historically low levels."
